cancer update, hospital or not

Mom saw her doctor today. Here are some results.

The cancer has decreased a little, enough to be noticeable by X-rays. This is the result of being on Tarceva (cancer meds) 7 days a week now.

The home care nurse a few days ago said that there’s a new cancer drug similar to Tarceva called Osimertinib and that, should there come a point in time (and it apparently will come) that the Tarceva isn’t effective anymore, Osimrtinib might be the thing to try next.

She is usually pretty good when she goes in to see him, but this time she “was like a rag doll,” she said. The doctor, upon seeing her like this, suggested she should go into hospital to get some strength back.

While staff were looking for a bed, she & Floyd talked and came to the conclusion that being admitted probably wouldn’t do any good. She’s getting care – help to various places in the house, help with meds, food whenever she wants, company (Floyd & myself), gets out of the house now and then (Wal-Mart, etc.), and exercise enough to keep her going. She wouldn’t necessarily get any of those things in hospital to the same degree as at home.

True, she wasn’t tired at all while in hospital, but she wasn’t doing anything either. Besides, last time she went in to get stronger, she wanted to leave the next day, although she doesn’t remember this.

So, the doctor will call Wednesday of next week to see if she’s changed her mind. But for now she’s at home.